Changeable sign.



G. F. FETSCHER.

CHANGEABLE SIGN. APPLICATION FILED DEU. 19, 1912.

Patented Apr. 15, 1913.

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GEORGE F. FETSCI-IER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CHAN GEABLE SIGN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

vPatented Apr. 15,1913.

Application filed December 19, 1912. Serial N o. 737,663.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. FE'rsoHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Changeable Signs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices which are used for advertising and other purposes, by means of which an advertisement or announcement may be made, either of a permanent or transient character, and Which will permit a change to be made at any time, either in the appearance or wording thereof. And the object of this invention is to obtain a device which is presentable in appearance; which permits but does not require the entire surface on either or both sides thereof to be wholly covered by an advertisement or announcement; which permits a change to be made in said advertisement or announcement, either by substituting a duplicate part or parts of the device for one or more previously in use, `or by withdrawing the whole or a part of the lettering of said advertising or announcement and replacing it with different lettering, without the withdrawal of said duplicate parts; which permits the building up of an advertisement or announcement letter by letter or line by line, as preferred;`which affords means to vary the height of the letters or words in different lines; which is easily manipulated, requiring no special skill on the part of the operator thereof; which can be used as a hanging device or as an easel adapted to be placed upon a desk or table, or other place; which is economically made, and durable; and which is adapted to receive any one of a large number of lines or letters which may be kept in'v stock.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a front view of a device embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the device which is illustrated in Fig. l. Fig. 8 is an endview of said device. line lr-4: of Fig. 1, viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on said line 1 -4, viewed in the same direction, but on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the device. And Fig. 6 is a -side elevation of the upper end of the easel supporting member of the device.

A reference character applled to deslgnate a given part indicates said part throughout Fig. 4: is a sectional view onl the several figures of the drawing, wherever the same appears.

A is the frame of the device, and consists of the top and bottom bars, a, a', and the side bars a.

B, is an ornamental design which is mounted on bar a and o are eyelets through which thecord C extends when the device is to be hung up.

.E are legs which are hinged to bar pintle e, when the device is to be used on a desk or table as an easel. The upper end of one of the legs E is illustrated inFiG. 6, and by making the legs E of spring metal, as sheet brass, the curved end e can be forced on to and removed from the pintle e, without removing said pintle from the lugs e.

The side bars a are duplicates, and are respectively provided with the apertures F, which are regularly spaced, and the slots f which communicate with said apertures F.

G are metal slides, and I make them by bending them up from a number of sheet metal ribbons. Slidesv G are provided with the ribs g, which lit closely in the apertures F, and the ribsr g which fit in the slots f. Saidy slides are also provided with the `grooves g on the top and bottom edges thereof, and H are strips which I make of cardboard, and also of metal, which fit in the grooves g. When strips I-I are used to build up an advertisement or announcement on the back of the device said strips will fit in between any two of the slides Gr, as is 4well illustrated in Fig. 5.

G', Fig. 5 is a slide which is wider in front thereof than is slide G, and a wider strip H may be used to lit therein. Whatever may be the width of the slides on the front face thereof the ribs g, g are made of the same size as illustrated in the drawings, relative to the size of the apertures F and slots f. That is, kthe ribs g fit closely in the apertures F, and the ribs g lit inthe slots f.

Whatever the width of the front of the slides G is, a strip (H) indicated by broken lines in Fig. 5, may be made to cover a plurality of said slides from view, and of suitable width so that the upper edge thereof fits into the upper groove of the top slide, and the lower edge thereof in the lower groove of the bottom slide. By this means a 1langer letter or character may be used for any desired word etr or line than the remainder of the advertisement or` announcement which is desired to be made. It will be evident that the length of the strip H need not correspond with the length of the slides Gr, but may be made longer or shorter, as preferred. lVhen made shorter a plurality of said strips may be inserted in a given slide, and when made longer the said strip will extend beyond the ends of said slide.

To change the advertisement or announcement which is displayed in this device the slides, or some of them, may be removed from the frame A, and different ones substituted therefor; lor some or all ofthe strips H may be withdrawn from the slides G and different strips put in place thereof.

VTlfie'ribs g are made longer than the slots f, so that the bodies of the slides G stand out A, a slight distance from the front face of frame A, so that a given strip H may be slid in between the back of said slides and between the ribs g of acent slides. This pconstruction permits a lsign to be built up on'the'backy of thevdevice using strips of a width which will slide'in the grooves g, as

strips of. this Width will also slide between any two of said slides G on the back thereof.

I claim 1.111' a changeable sign, a frame the side walls'whereof'are lprovided with apertures and 'with' slots communicatingl with said apertures, slides respectively provided wit-h ribs' fitting into said apertures, said ribs attached said slides by additional ribs which fit in said slots, and said slides provided with grooves on the upper and lower edges thereof upon their front faces, in combination with strips, the upper and lower edges of said strips adapted to iit in said grooves.

2. In a changeable sign, a frame the side walls whereof are provided with apertures and with slots communicating with said apertures, in combination with slides made ofsheet metal and bent up to obtain ribs fitting into said apertures, additional ribs joining said first named ribs to the body of said slides, andgrooves on the upper and lower edges ofsaid body part, said additional ribs fitting in said slots, and strips adapted to {it in said grooves.

3. In a changeable sign, a frame the side walls whereof are provided with apertures and with slots communicating with said apertures, slides respectively provided with ribs fitting into said apertures and addi` tionall ribs fitting in said slots, said additional ribs being deeper than said slots to position said slides a determined distance from said frame, and grooves on the upper and lower edges of the front of said slides, in combination with strips adapted to (it in said last named grooves and between said additional ribs of adjacent slides, and beof said frame.

GEO. l". FETSCHER. Witnesses:

DANIEL D. SWEM, CHARLES TURNER BROWN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

A Y Washington, ID. C.

tween the backs of said slides and the front' .s A. 

